UNDERSTANDING YOUR

FOOTPRINT THROUGH

HIGG INDEX VERIFICATION Adam Whinston

Director of Supply Chain Assessments & Solutions

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The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

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THE SUSTAINABLE APPAREL COALITION

Vision: An apparel and footwear

industry group that produces no

unnecessary environmental harm, and

has a positive impact on the people and

communities associated with its

activities.

Core value: Industry collaboration

leading the development of sustainable

practices

3

SAC MEMBERS

SAC members represent over 40% of the global market share of the apparel

& footwear industries.

For an updated list, please visit www.apparelcoalition.org/current-members

SAC Members

Government

Service

Providers

Trade

Associations

Academic

Institutions

Brands

Retailers

Manufacturers

Non-profits

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BRANDS/RETAILERS

5

MANUFACTURERS

6

NGO/TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

7

HIGG INDEX

The focus of the Sustainable

Apparel Coalition is the development

and use of the Higg Index: a suite of

self-assessment tools designed to

measure the sustainability impacts

of apparel and footwear products.

Higg Index

Environment Social/Labor

Apparel Footwear

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HIGG INDEX 2.0: SUITE OF TOOLS

Facility

Brand

Product

The environmental facility module is

the most adopted tool so far.

Thousands of factories received it

from the brands or retailers

Example: Target sent the module to

3000 suppliers

The social facility module is not well

adopted as members already have

their own program in place

More than 70% of the brands

assessed their performance using

the Brand module

Higg

Index

2.0

• Environment facility module

• Social/Labor

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HIGG FACILITY MODULE

Self assessment questionnaire to measure the environmental

performance of factories

Based on the GSCP EMS Program

The tool covers seven environmental areas:

Environmental management system

Energy use and Greenhouse gas emissions

Water use

Wastewater/effluent

Emissions to air

Waste management

Chemicals management

The objectives of the tool are:

Increase the awareness

Promote collaboration and transparency

Encourage continuous improvement

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BENEFITS OF USING THE HIGG 2.0

1

0

Identification of sustainability

opportunities & risks

Education, learning,

benchmarking

Communication & collaboration

Roadmap for improvement

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HIGG INDEX WEB TOOL: CORE

FUNCTIONALITY

Complete Modules online

Connect and Share Modules

with your partners (clients)

Report and Benchmark

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HIGG INDEX WEB TOOL

Source: Higg_BusinessValue_Oct22_FINAL.pdf

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SCREENSHOT OF WEB TOOL OVERVIEW OF THE FACILITIES IN CONNECTION

Factories in connection Validation status Higg score

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SCREENSHOT OF WEB TOOL DETAILED MODULE OF THE FACILITIES IN CONNECTION

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SCREENSHOT OF WEB TOOL BENCHMARKING

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HIGG INDEX VERIFICATION

Why verify self-assessments?

To increase the trust in the score

To increase the awareness

To drive continuous improvement

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SELF ASSESSED SCORE VS

VERIFIED SCORE (N=30)

67

76

20

50

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Laundries Dyeing facilities

Self

Verified

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EXAMPLE OF SUMMARY OF

VERIFICATION REPORT

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EXAMPLE OF VERIFICATION REPORT

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EXAMPLE OF IMPROVEMENT

BEFORE AFTER

Wastes storage area of the dye containers in a factory located in China

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CHANGING THE MINDSET

Switching from compliance oriented audits to performance

improvement oriented programs:

We don’t use the word audit, we use the word verification

We don’t use the word auditor, we use the word assessor

We don’t use the words corrective action plan, we use the

words performance improvement plan

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WHAT CAN YOU DO WITHOUT BEING

AN SAC MEMBER?

NON SAC MEMBER SAC MEMBER

Use the Higg index self assessment

questionnaire

YES YES

Brand/Retailers

Create a profile on Higg.org to use the

online platform

NO

(Can be managed by

SGS)

YES

Factories

Create a profile on Higg.org to use the

online platform

YES YES

Participate to the SAC meetings and

working groups

NO YES

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TARGET’S HIGG INDEX

VERIFICATION PROGRAM

Target progressively engage secondary facilities (Dyeing facilities and

laundries) in a Higg index verification process

Primary facilities are not required by Target to conduct the Higg index

verification. They may receive such inquiries from other SAC members

A Higg verification pilot will be launched in July 2015.

Major brands and retailers will participate to this Higg index verification

pilot phase.

Facilities will only be requested to perform one verification.

The other SAC members will accept the verification report in order to

reduce the audit fatigue.

This will help suppliers to focus the efforts in implementing continuous

improvement actions

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Q&A

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CONTACT INFO

Xavier Vital

Global Environmental Services Manager

Innovation and Product Development Manager

SGS North America

291 Fairfield Avenue

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Phone: +1 973 461 1492

Mobile: +1 973 513 5938

E-mail : xavier.vital@sgs.com

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CONTACT INFO

Adam Whinston

Director, Supply Chain Assessments & Solutions

SGS North America

291 Fairfield Avenue

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Phone: +1 973 461 7950

Mobile: +1 201 247 5787

E-mail : adam.whinston@sgs.com